Episode 41

Cassel, who entered the bridal chamber first, laughed briefly at the simple food served on the table, then passed by and sat down on the bed.

"… If you get hungry while doing it, it's like telling you to pick it up and eat it or something."

It's consideration that you don't even realize you're being considerate of.

The bridal chamber was neither splendid nor spacious. However, the room was surrounded by expensive antiques from Ballestena, which had a long history, and old but still beautiful and antique furniture. It was more elegant than a room filled with only splendid new items.

It was a bit comical that there were a few candles burning in the middle of the darkness and a bed that was too large for the size of the room, but most bridal chambers were like this.

If a strange man and woman were to suddenly come face to face in the middle of a spacious bedroom, they would begin to suspect that someone was hiding in the darkness that the candles could not illuminate, watching them.

Just like the poor young couples of a hundred years ago who had to have sex in front of their family's onlookers.

The excitement will cool down due to the sudden doubts, and when you quickly rush towards anxiety, all that will remain is an unpleasant sense of reality. A damp body, awkward breathing, and the realization that the contract called marriage has been completed…

I'm not even sure if that's acceptable anymore.

Cassel buried his face in his towel, feeling anxious.

Yeah, maybe that would be very sweet.

The wedding mass and the banquet held to celebrate the wedding are all basically for show to others. The true completion of the marriage took place in the first night.

The marriage of the nobles could be overturned the next day as if it had never happened, on the pretext that they had not had intercourse right away. When the terms of each party could not be properly agreed upon, sometimes they even made it seem as if the actual intercourse had never happened. Even women who were not virgins became virgins again.

In reality, whether the bride was a virgin or not was not a very important fact in the free and debauched society of today. It was a new custom these days for the husband to take a little blood from the inside of his wrist, which was not visible to others, and submit it as evidence of a hundred-year-old custom.

However, whenever the topic of 'having to overturn' comes up, people are busy engaging in old-fashioned arguments, such as 'your daughter is still a pure lily', or 'your daughter has already lost her virginity to my son', as if she had already died hundreds of years ago.

Of course, that doesn't happen very often, unless the first day passes without incident.

Cassel had brushed aside the Duke of Ballestena's threat to 'overturn anything if he dares'. As long as Ines wanted it, her father would not be able to overturn anything.

…as long as Ines continues to want this marriage.

As if to compensate for the mischievous dreams that had tormented Cassel day and night, his head, which had been counting the time until night, was soon filled with thoughts about 'holy marriage'. In the meantime, desire seemed to be trapped somewhere far below.

I wish this night would pass quickly and everything would be perfect. Ines Escalante, wife of Cassel Escalante. And then quickly take her away from the sight of the Duke of Ballestena.

To a place where only she and he could be. To a new mansion on the coast of Calstera… .

'… … A place where only the two of us can be?'

Suddenly, Cassel burst into a fit of laughter, covering his face with his palm. He must be crazy… I doubted for a moment whether the thought that had really come out of my head was right, but his soldierly spirit knew no tricks.

It was something that just popped into my head. I thought it was nonsense, but it ended up making sense.

The plan to spend his honeymoon at Calstera, where his fleet was anchored, rather than at Mentossa or Esposa, was set from the moment he sent his letter of proposal. It was by no means because he desperately wanted and longed to be alone with her… .

Oh, just the two of us? Seriously, what were you thinking?

Cassel ground his teeth. It was never decided with such a thought, such an impulse.

I swear, it didn't mean anything special. I hope he didn't swear outright that it wasn't true, but Cassel brainwashed himself into thinking so, and found a rational reason for it.

Yes. It was clear that the interference of the Duke of Escalante would be just as chaotic as that of the Duke of Ballestena.

'…Fuck… This is why I think I like Ines Ballestena.'

He repeated miserably. Of course, it had been a long time since he had thought of disliking it.

Cassel, who had vehemently opposed marriage at the age of six, had already come to dislike Ines so much after two months that year. The marriage was always regrettable, but his simple nature allowed him to accept it as fate, separate from regret.

Her black hair, which was once ridiculed by the world as looking like a crow, sometimes reminded her of the crows flying into Calstera, and when she went to the funeral together, Ines was not very noticeable, which was rather annoying.

Because we are used to it, it is natural. This is just familiarity.

Among them, the 'like' was always the part of the young Ines. Even the grown Ines doesn't like him anymore.

I don't know what her true intentions are, but she only wants to marry him and doesn't care who she meets or what they do. Not only does she not like him, she doesn't care either. She just says, "If the man I like betrayed me, I'd kill him, but what about you?" and that's the end of it.

'But now, to say that you like Ines Ballestena all by yourself, this is ridiculous… … .'

Even though he has such a bad personality, I thought that if we lived together, there would come a day when things would get better. I didn't hate him. But now, we haven't even lived together.

Cassel's expression, revealed between his palms, was vaguely distorted.

I wish this night would pass quickly, so that all the dirty fantasies I had been having day and night would be in vain.

It was all Enrique Osorno's fault. Perhaps part of it was the fault of the Duke of Ballestena, who had mentioned his name first, and part of it was Ines's uncharacteristic behavior, dancing like an ordinary bride with the men she had always regarded as insects.

Eventually, the door opened with Enrique Osorno.

When I recalled the face of Enrique Osorno, who had danced with Ines, I felt an unbearable irritability, but when I thought of the men who had led Ines onto the stage one after another, even their sly appearances became laughable.

They are all just like Dante Ihar. Even among them, there was a real Dante Ihar. In an instant, he was overtaken by Enrique Osorno, and the future bald man with a pitiful expression… .

He was in no position to criticize anyone for their usual behavior, but how could he imagine that a newlywed bride dancing with her groom would have an affair with him in the near future?

Those who were already married, those who were not yet married, those who were married and then came back… The eyes that had been watching Ines closely were all lost in the same sinister delusion.

The voice that had been babbling, "That damn Escalante girl," came back to mind and grated on my nerves. And so did the pitiful voice that had laughed back at me, telling me that I looked even more expensive.

Some whispered that seducing Cassel Escalante's wife would be proof that they were better than Cassel Escalante; others were confident that Ines Ballestena, however beautiful she was beyond imagination, would not be able to hold Escalante's attention for long; others were just waiting for Cassel Escalante to abandon Ines Ballestena, and by babbling about how easy it would be to comfort a wounded and tattered woman, they won the approval of all the men.

Of course, Cassel found out the names of all those voices and handed them over to Escalante's loyal butler. Everyone will pay the appropriate price quietly. In any case, the Duke of Ballestena was happy with Ines's unprecedented sociable appearance, and Cassel was a son-in-law whom the Duke of Ballestena did not like even in the way he breathed. As long as he stayed in the Duke of Ballestena's house, he could not cause any trouble.

As if she was so great and could achieve anything if she just stretched out her hand, their eyes were busy observing only Ines's wavy hair, intelligent green eyes, kindly smiling mouth, and ample chest. No one had betrayed her, but they had a bewildered expression as if they felt betrayed, and they persistently threw hungry glances, pretended not to know, and made pitiful bets, and then when the music showed signs of ending, they were on guard against each other, ready to intervene somehow.

And then, finally succeeding, he fixed his gaze on Ines' bare shoulder as if possessed… …. As soon as he muttered a curse, his throat became parched again, and Cassel nervously wiped his face and got up.

It was at that moment that he returned to the table where the food was laid out.

"… … ."

Before he knew it, the door to the bridal chamber was open. Ines, wearing a negligee that revealed her entire body, entered the room. Cassel's breathing stopped.

Just like when Ines, in her wedding dress, first walked in through the chapel doors where brilliant light was pouring in.